Six years ago I read a book by Roger Wilkins (nephew of Civil Rights leader Roy Wilkins) entitled Jefferson's Pillow. In the book, Wilkins took a closer look at four of the founding fathers, trying to understand how they could write such beautiful prose and build a government upon the concept of all men being equal, yet fail to abolish the enslavement of Africans and continue to personally own slaves themselves.
Out of a sense of fairness, Wilkins refused to judge 18th century men by 20th century standards, he was really trying to understand this dilemma from within their own time and worldview. And the conclusion he came to (roughly paraphrased) was this: privately these men did wish for the fulfillment of their words and ideals for all people living in this country. But they also realized the fledgling economy of their fledgling nation was surviving in large part due to the "free" labor of the slaves. To push for an abolition of slavery at that time would have very likely collapsed both the fragile economy and the fragile new political structure. So, the founding fathers did the next best thing within their power. First, they planted the ideal of freedom for all and the concept of inalienable human rights as deeply as possible, weaving it into the very DNA of the nation. And second, they intentionally designed a system of government that was amendable and adaptable so that, when the day came, those rights and that freedom could be extended to all in this fair country.
Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th President of the United States is a fulfillment of so many dreams - of his father, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., of so many throughout this country who never thought they'd live to see this day. But dare I claim that today is also a fulfillment of the dreams of our founding fathers? Because today, Barack Obama is living proof that their system works. Certainly, it's been a long and weary road to get here: 232 years, a Civil War and a Civil Rights Movement, with incalculable suffering and personal sacrifice along the way, mostly by folks whose names are lost to the annals of history. But we did it. We the people have kept struggling and striving together to forge a more perfect union, we the people have kept adapting and amending, not only our constitution and governance, but also our ways of thinking and our ways of living out our founding ideals. And now today, a man who would have been counted as 3/5 of a person in the very first census, a man who in living memory would have been denied service in many a restaurant in this country, today that man was sworn into the highest office in the land.
Which is not to discount the struggle that still lies ahead. I am not so naieve to believe we have fully arrived, I know there is a long and weary road still before us. But I have hope that we will get there. Because I have seen with my own eyes that the system, for all its faults, still works. Because I hold with the good Dr. King that the arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Because I believe that this president, in particular, will call forth the better angels of our nature and will build upon the best ideas and practices of our history as we struggle and strive together over the next four years.
Wilkins relates an anecdote in the book, about a woman who approached Benjamin Franklin on the streets of Philadelphia one day in the midst of the Continental Congress. She is alleged to have asked him, "And what have you made for us, Mr. Franklin?" He is alleged to have answered, "A Republic madam, if you can keep it." It's that last part that's the key - with the security of 200-plus years of history under out belt, we take our existence as a nation so much for granted. But from the very beginning, America has been a grand experiment in self-governance, an experiment whose success is absolutely dependent upon the active engagement of our citizenry. We've been slacking off in recent years, and President Obama rightly called us out for it in his speech today. But then he also issued a clarion call to action. It's an invitation he's been extending since the very beginning of his campaign, an invitation I trust he will continue to extend through every speech and act of his administration.
May God give us each the grace and the strength to answer it.
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